Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If your stomach is grumbling,
Hôtel La Sapinière's
airy and reasonable café is a
Backinyourcar,retraceyourroutealongthebeach(lookforworthwhileinformation
boards along the sea) and hug the coast past the flags heading toward the Pointe de la
Percée cliff, which, from here, looks very Pointe du Hoc-like (American Army Rangers
mistook this cliff for Pointe du Hoc, costing them time and lives). A local artist made that
strikingmetalsculpturerisingfromthewavesinhonoroftheliberatingforces,andtosym-
bolize the rise of freedom on the wings of hope.
Keep hugging the coastline on D-517 and pull over about 100 yards before the Hôtel
Casino to find the two German bunkers just below the hotel—now transformed into a
monument to US National Guard troops who landed on D-Day. Anti-tank guns housed in
these bunkers were not aimed out to sea, but instead were positioned to fire directly up the
beach.
Look out to the ocean. It was here that the Americans assembled their own floating
bridge and artificial harbor (à la Arromanches). The harbor functioned for 12 days before
